Passion's Call
by Roselight Writer
Summary: Ch.1: Raoul and Christine's final, and most passionate moments before the Point of No Return. Ch.2: Point of No Return scene. Christine's feelings during this intense climax
1. Believing

Christine stared silently out the window, her tearful gaze meeting the powerful, dignified stare of the setting sun. Alas, it was dipping beneath the golden horizon; colors swept through the sky_. Darkness was falling upon the earth…_ Christine knew. And then she would lose everything; her life would close into blackness; fade away into the shadows.

Her heart churned. Hours ago, it had been numbed by pain and overwhelming emotion. Now it seemed to carry a thousand emotions too raw and painful to be touched.

She extended a shaking arm to the score lying on the dressing table in front of her. Through her tears, she could make out the words _"Don Juan Triumphant"_ in blood-colored ink. Her eyes found the emotionless notes inscribed inside the pages and felt her heart close away in dread and fear. Everything came flooding at her painfully.

_No! _screamed her mind. She couldn't think about it. She couldn't let her terror take her. Somewhere deep inside her, there had to be something—some great courage—that could lead her past this nightmare. Her heart raced. Fear coursed through her veins. _If she doesn't battle tonight, she would be taken from Raoul's side forever._ Choking back her tears desperately, she turned to her dressing maid.

"Sylvie, send for Raoul. Please," she murmured, unwilling to let the girl see her cry. She wouldn't understand; she didn't want to have to explain.

"Le vicomte, mademoiselle?" she asked, startled. It had been hours since Christine had last spoken. The young woman nodded.

"He's been asking to see you, Mademoiselle Daae,'' she began in her heavy accent. "But the guards wouldn't let him in. They told him that you were tired and disturbed and that you needed rest. " Christine turned her head away instantly to hide her misery.

"Please…I beg you…ask them to let him in! Oh god, Sylvie, I need him. Please…" Her eyes were wide with pleading and a painful passion that the young girl could not feel.

"Y-yes," she answered hastily, throwing the doors open. Christine closed her eyes, barely able to breathe. Her lungs seemed as tight as the crimson sash around her waist.

Moments later, she heard noise by her door. Two angry guards were struggling to hold back a fierce, reckless Raoul.

Suddenly, Christine felt her throat tighten, and tears sprang to her eyes.

"Raoul—"she whispered, standing up. The young man broke free of the guards, slammed the door shut, and in an instant, he was at her side. Gently, he stroked her face, gazing into her eyes. They held an alien darkness that seemed to stretch beyond the point of all endurance. Christine closed her eyes, blinking tears from her lashes. For the first time in her life, Raoul's protective embrace brought her no comfort.

"It's tonight," she managed to gasp out. For a moment, Raoul was silent. The only sound between them was the gentle sound of her falling tears and the him of Raoul's heavy breathing as his chest rose and fell rapidly. At last, she swallowed hard, choking down rising tears from her desert-dry throat.

"He can't take you," Raoul mouthed, his lips barely parting. "Not your heart. He never will." Christine let her eyes open. There seemed nothing left to say. And yet, sorrow gathered in her tense chest.

"Oh Raoul, I almost wish…wish you didn't love me. I wish my heart was never so full, so whole, as it was when I was with you, for if it had never been whole, then it can never break. Say it Raoul, please…say it, so I won't ache so much," she blurted out blindly.

"My dear Christine—"Raoul said, laying a finger on her lips. "Don't ever say that. You know I love you, and I never will stop. I beg you, don't hurt yourself that way.

You have to let yourself believe that you can overcome the Phantom. You _have_ to. I believe you can. You too, must lay trust in yourself; lie trust in our love.

Oh god, Christine; I'm frightened too. Every night, since you first told me of this horrifying Phantom, I've rested every prayer upon you. But now, no prayer or blessing can save you. Nothing, no one, but our love. My dear, please…you have to believe in it. You have to let—"his eyes blinked shut—"have to let it help you, guide you." Tears slid from the sides of his eyes. Christine's slender finger traced his tears and she leaned close to him.

"I believe it, Raoul," she breathed. She couldn't let herself shatter away. She had to remember Raoul's words, trust his undying love. Sighing, she let tears flow down her face, yet somehow, she knew they were not tears of grief.

Gently, she let her fingers intertwine themselves with Raoul's. From the depths of her heart, a feeling rose to her chest suddenly…a feeling she could not comprehend nor force back. Christine let her own gaze meet Raoul's steady one. And suddenly, she felt it—that beautiful feeling of letting light illuminate a pool of darkness. She let her body relax against Raoul's and said nothing as her soul melted into his love. There seemed to be no other way to express her endless gratitude; her feelings that were too strong to have a name. Affection, fondness, appreciation, and even love, now seemed to be only understatements.

With gentle care, Raoul put his hands to her cheeks and rubbed them. A smile played at his lips.

"There! All the stage makeup they had put on you had diminished your beauty. Oh, my beautiful Christine, you'll stay forever gorgeous in heart and spirit and body, to me." He kissed her, gently—softly at first—and then stronger and stronger, with increasing depth. Slowly, his kiss moved beyond her lips, to her neck, then stenciling over to her bare shoulders. She arched herself back ever so slightly to let him explore, entranced, and yet still feeling so safe, so free…so comforted by the warmth of his lips. At last he stopped; drawing her forward for one more embrace. He squeezed her shoulders ever so lightly. "To give you strength," he whispered into her ear. And for the first time in so long, Christine let herself smile.

"_That's all I ask of you_. Nothing more."


	2. Fire

_"Past the point of no return, no backward glances; the games of make believe are at an end."_ Christine heard the Phantom's dreaded voice resonating throughout the halls. Her time had come, she knew. There was no escaping now.

Struggling fiercely against her own self and will, she let her feet carry her on stage. Desperately, her eyes scanned every row in every corner of the hall, as she made her way steadily to the center of the stage, searching frantically for Raoul's face. Every sense strained. Yet the Phantom's voice, forcing her to succumb, beat against her wildly, as it sang: _"Past all thought of if or when no use resisting, abandon thought and let the dream descend." _

Suddenly, as her eyes met the Phantom's masked ones, a feeling grasped her so powerfully she couldn't push it away. It was as if some enchantment had been suddenly cast over her. She turned to face the Phantom, passion flooding every inch of her body. The strange feeling seemed to sprint inside her veins, and somewhere deep inside—deep where the Phantom could not touch her---fear knifed through her heart. What was happening to her? What was this strange effect that the Phantom was having on her?

Gasping for breath, she advanced upon the Phantom. Beneath his crow-black "Don Juan" mask, his eyes were blazing with desire. With a recklessness she had never encountered before, Christine threw aside her fears and put herself close to the Phantom's body, letting him study her, touch her.

"_What raging fires shall flood the soul? What rich desire unlocks its door? What sweet seduction lies before us"? _His voice was gravel-like and coarse, harsh but adoring as he sang. All of a sudden, Christine felt the Phantom's hands on her naked shoulders, and the indescribable beauty of his touch was eclipsed by the branding heat. Willingly, she let herself be carried away by the music. Since her childhood, she had always been soft when it came to music… always ready to give in to its power, never hiding from it.

_"Past the point of no return, the final threshold, what warm unspoken secrets will we learn….beyond the point of no return?"_

For a terrible moment, her mind was blank. But instantly, the grasping lyrics of Aminta's song would come flooding back soon. She somehow found her voice, and the words came pouring from her throat.

_"You have brought me to that moment where words run dry, to that moment where speech disappears into silence…silence." _She shuddered at the extravagance in her voice, the fire she had never before heard herself embody. Heat raced through her body. Her very blood seemed aflame. Slowly, with steady steps, she made her way to the center of the hanging bridge on which they were standing…_the bridge that was a prop, a symbol that the Phantom had created._ All eyes were upon her. Music still spilled from her throat. Her voice was more beautiful than ever; full of aching grace and gripping elegance. She stood, moving slowly, struggling to control the trembling of her legs, and fiercely trying to fight tears. "_I have come here, hardly knowing the reason why, in my mind I've already imagined our bodies entwining, defenseless and silent, and now I am here with you. No second thoughts, I've decided—decided._

_"Past the point of no return, no going back now, our passion play has now at last begun !Past all thought of right or wrong, one final question; how long should we two wait before we're one?'' _she sang. Each and every note seemed to require her full strength now, and yet, with every breath, she gained bravery. _"When will the blood begin to race? The sleeping bud burst into bloom? When will the flames at last consume us?" _

A yielding dance was born between the two of them, the Phantom taking control of her body. She let him do it, slowly abandoning her sensible mind. She danced feverishly, wildly, their voices carrying her through. His touch was strong and intense as his grasped her by the waist, his fingers slipping against the silk. Christine leaned against him, as if intoxicated by his power and strange beauty. He held her, and her breath melted into one against his. Her body screamed at her to go…to turn from the Phantom's seducing glare…to run from the stage…_to return to Raoul's side_. But she ignored the panicking cries of her body, and slowly they died away.

The Phantom's skin was on hers now---his hands touching her bare skin just above her breasts. _How his touched differed from Raoul's tender one. How she longed to succumb to him, to let his lustful passion fill her_. It was a frightening feeling, but Christine couldn't hide from it. The rapture was overwhelming.

They danced, his breath and face upon her own. She was panting as she let him take her over, her chest rising and falling heavily with every new second, barely aware of all that was happening.

_"That's the point of no return, the final threshold, the bridge is crossed, so stand and watch it burn! We're past the point of no return." _

Her heart was racing; trembling, almost. Her face was lined with sweat. The Phantom still held her, as if unwilling to let her go. Suddenly, sadness seemed to well through him. Christine was shaking, her entire body shivering uncontrollably, and she backed from him to control herself. Her eyes were fixed upon his as she drew away_. What did she feel_? She no longer knew. Her heart seemed to have opened as it never had before---opened in a frightful way---and she wanted nothing more than to burst into tears.

At last, she regained her strength, and pulled herself together as she realized the Phantom was on her again. The music around her seemed distant. Slowly, with tense fingers, he slipped upon her a thin, gorgeous gold ring. Time seemed suspended as she watched him, in awe and horror and daze. And as he sang again, his voice was filled with such terrible yearn ing, such aching; she wanted to silence him with….. _her own lips._

_"Say you'll share with me one love one lifetime. Save me, lead me from my solitude. Say you want me with you, here beside you...Anywhere you go let me go too! Christine that's all I ask of---" _

Christine knew that instant that she could no longer hide. His voice, reverberating and breaking beyond endurance, circled through her soul. Extending a trembling hand to his face, her fingers crept beneath his mask. And the next thing she knew was horrified screams all around the hall.

And then darkness swept around her.

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**Hello to all readers! I hope you've enjoyed these two chapters. I know the second one was very different from everything else I've written so far, so it must have been a shock and surprise to you all, b/c...for one thing, it's darker, moredramaticand tenser than the other stories, and for another, it's NOT Raoul/Christine. I was surprised at my own self for making that decision, to be honest, because I love RC so so much. They were made for each other, and it was wonderful that they found each other. **

**I think that my true, original reason for writing this chapter was this: _the music_. It made me wonder, intrigued me deeply, and stirred my curiosity like no other scene has. Of course I countless favorite pieces of music in this musical,but the PONRremainsthe one that tugs at me most, even if it's not the one closest to my heart. It's so heatrending; I love it so much.It makes me want to go_ inside _Christine, and explore her emotions. I hope this has done the music justice. **


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